U.K to ban ads that show ‘sexist stereotypes’

Advertisements that perpetuate sexist stereotypes, from men being shown as useless at changing nappies to women being unable to park a car, would be banned under a new rule being considered by the industry watchdog.

The crackdown by the Committee of Advertising Practice (Cap), which writes the codes that all UK advertisers have to follow, aims to rid television, radio, billboards, posters, newspapers and magazines of ads that promote harmful or offensive stereotypes. The new rule, which follows 10 months of evaluation by the ad watchdog, will be subject to a final public consultation before being put into practice.

“Our review of the evidence strongly indicates that particular forms of gender stereotypes in ads can contribute to harm for adults and children by limiting how people see themselves and how others see them and the life decisions they take,” said Ella Smillie, the lead on the gender stereotyping project at Cap.

Here are the examples of things that would likely be banned

Man sitting with his feet up while a mess is in the house and his wife is cleaning up

Ad showing someone not being able to complete a task due to gender, such as a man not being able to change a diaper and a woman not being able to park a car.